Methods, systems, and products for targeting media for storage to communications devices

ABSTRACT

Methods, devices, and products are provided for targeting media. Descriptive information is received that describes media. The descriptive information is compared to a stored set of user-defined criteria. If the descriptive information contains any criterion, then the media is stored in memory, wherein the stored media is targeted to a user&#39;s communications device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application relates to the following co-pending andcommonly-assigned applications, with each application incorporatedherein by reference: U.S. application Ser. No. 11/300,125, filed Dec.14, 2005 and entitled “Presence Detection in a Bandwidth ManagementSystem”; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/300,061, filed Dec. 14, 2005 andentitled “Methods, Systems, and Devices for Bandwidth Conservation”;U.S. application Ser. No. 11/178,075, filed Jul. 8, 2005 and entitled“Methods, Systems, and Devices for Securing Content”; U.S. applicationSer. No. 11/304,264, filed Dec. 14, 2005 and entitled “Methods, Systems,and Computer Program Products For Providing Traffic Control Services”;U.S. application Ser. No. 11/703,573, concurrently filed and entitled“Methods, Systems, and Products for Conserving Bandwidth”; U.S.application Ser. No. 11/703,352, concurrently filed and entitled“Methods and Systems for Image Processing”; U.S. application Ser. No.11/703,359, concurrently filed and entitled “Methods, Systems, andProducts for Recording Media”; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/703,574,concurrently filed and entitled “Methods, Systems, and Products forRecording Media”; and U.S. application Ser. No. 11/703,565, concurrentlyfiled and entitled “Methods, Systems, and Products for Restoring Media”.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document and its figurescontain material subject to copyright protection. The copyright ownerhas no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdocument or the patent disclosure, but otherwise reserves all copyrightswhatsoever.

BACKGROUND

This application generally relates to interactive multimediadistribution systems and, more particularly, to targeting media (such asmovies, music, and advertisements) to users.

Advertising is undergoing profound change. Recent technologicaladvancements permit users to “skip” commercials and other targetedmedia. Video recorders, for example, include technologies to detect andskip commercials. Additionally, users habitually “surf” duringcommercials breaks, further eroding advertising effectiveness. Theentertainment industry's traditional advertising-based model, then, isthreatened by technological change. Targeted advertising has thusemerged to customize commercials to user interests, profiles,demographics, and location. These targeted advertisements seek tocapture the user's interests and present relevant messages that appealto the user.

Today's targeted advertisements, however, rely on personal or evenprivate information. A profile is constructed for a user or household,and advertisements are targeted to that profile. The problem with suchefforts, however, is that personal or even private information may berevealed or captured. Users often have no control over what informationis gathered to build their profile. So, while many people are concernedabout maintaining the privacy of personal information, today's currenttargeted advertising techniques strive to gather as much information aspossible. What is needed, then, are methods, systems, and products thattarget advertising and other media without revealing personal or privateinformation.

SUMMARY

The aforementioned problems, and other problems, are reduced, accordingto exemplary embodiments, by methods, systems, and products that targetmedia to users. These exemplary embodiments describe a paradigm shift inthe advertising-based model used by the entertainment industry. Heremedia is targeted to a user based on user-defined criteria, such askeywords, properties, instructions, and/or graphics. The user, forexample, may establish a set of criteria that describe subject matter ofinterest to the user. As media is received by the user's communicationsdevice, that media is compared to the user's set of criteria. If themedia contains any visual or audible content that matches the user's setof criteria, the media may then appeal to the user interests. The mediais saved to memory for retrieval and enjoyment. Additional embodimentsmay calculate a score that reflects how well the media correlates to thekeywords, properties, instructions, and/or other criteria. If, however,the media does not match the set of criteria, or if the resulting scoreis less than a threshold score, then the media may be discarded,presumedly not being of interest to the user. Here, then, the paradigmshift in the advertising-based model reflects user-defined criteria(such as words, phrases, properties, and other attributes) that appealto the user. The user may accurately determine what subject is appealingwithout revealing personal or private information.

Exemplary embodiments describe a method for targeting media to a user.The term “media” includes any movie, music, advertisement, and/or image.The media may be a stream of data or a file that is packetized accordingto a packet protocol. The audible and/or visual content of the media iscompared to a stored set of user-defined criteria. The set of criteriainclude words or phrases that appeal to the user. If the content of themedia contains any member of the set of criteria, then the media isstored in memory. If, however, the content of the media fails to containany member of the set of criteria, then the content is discarded. Thestored media is thus targeted to a user's communications device.

In another exemplary embodiment, another method is disclosed fortargeting advertisements. Descriptive information that describes mediais sent to a user's communications device. Information is received thatdescribes comparison matches between the descriptive information and aset of user-defined criteria that are stored in memory of the user'scommunications device.

More exemplary embodiments describe a device for targetingadvertisements. The device comprises a processor communicating with auser interface stored in memory. The processor stores a set ofuser-defined criteria in the memory, and the processor receivesdescriptive text and/or other information that describes any media, suchas an advertisement. The processor compares the descriptive informationto the set of criteria. If the descriptive information contains anymember of the set of criteria, then the processor stores the media inthe memory. If, however, the descriptive information fails to containany member of the set of criteria, then the processor discards themedia. The stored media is thus targeted to a user's communicationsdevice.

Still more exemplary embodiments describe another device for targetingadvertisements. A processor communicates with a network interface andwith memory. The processor sends descriptive text and/or otherinformation to a user's communications device that describes media. Theprocessor receives information describing comparison matches between thedescriptive information and a set of user-defined criteria that arestored in memory of the user's communications device.

Exemplary embodiments also include a computer program product fortargeting advertisements and other media. The computer program productstores computer code for storing a set of user-defined criteria.Descriptive information, such as descriptive text, is received thatdescribes media. The descriptive information is compared to the set ofuser-defined criteria. If the descriptive information contains anymember of the set of criteria, then the media is stored in memory. Ifthe descriptive information fails to contain any member of the set ofcriteria, then the media is discarded. The stored media is thus targetedto a user's communications device.

Other exemplary embodiments include more computer program products. Heredescriptive information is sent to a user's communications device thatdescribes an advertisement and/or other media. Information is receivedthat describes comparison matches between the descriptive informationand a set of user-defined criteria that are stored in memory of theuser's communications device.

Other systems, methods, and/or devices according to the exemplaryembodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponreview of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, and/or devices beincluded within this description, be within the scope of the exemplaryembodiments, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the exemplaryembodiments are better understood when the following DetailedDescription is read with reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating an operating environment, accordingto exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustrating a process for targeting media,according to more exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating another process for targeting media,according to even more exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustrating yet another process for targetingmedia, according to still more exemplary embodiments;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematics illustrating yet another process fortargeting media, according to still more exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustrating additional exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustrating yet another process for targetingmedia, according to even more exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustrating additional communications devices inwhich exemplary embodiments may operate; and

FIGS. 10 and 11 are flowcharts illustrating methods for targeting mediaaccording to exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings. The reader shouldrecognize, however, that the exemplary embodiments may be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided so thatthis disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey thescope of the exemplary embodiments. Moreover, all statements hereinreciting exemplary embodiments, as well as specific examples thereof,are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalentsthereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include bothcurrently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in thefuture (i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function,regardless of structure).

Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill inthe art that the diagrams, schematics, illustrations, and the likerepresent conceptual views or processes illustrating systems and methodsof the exemplary embodiments. The functions of the various elementsshown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicatedhardware as well as hardware capable of executing associated software.Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Theirfunction may be carried out through the operation of program logic,through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control anddedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique beingselectable by the entity implementing the exemplary embodiments. Thoseof ordinary skill in the art further understand that the exemplaryhardware, software, processes, methods, and/or operating systemsdescribed herein are for illustrative purposes and, thus, are notintended to be limited to any particular named manufacturer.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating an operating environment, accordingto exemplary embodiments. FIG. 1 illustrates a user's communicationsdevice 20 communicating with a media server 22 via a communicationsnetwork 24. Although the user's communications device 20 is genericallyshown, as later paragraphs will explain, the communications device 20may be a computer, set-top box, digital recorder, phone, or any othercommunications device. The user's communications device 20 stores apersonal agent 26 in memory 28. The personal agent 26 includesprocessor-executable code or instructions that cause a processor 30(e.g., “μP”), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or othersimilar device to target media to the user. Although the term “user” isused throughout this specification, it should be understood that thepersonal agent 26 may target media to multiple users. As the followingparagraphs will explain, the personal agent 26 compares one or moremedia streams or files 32 (e.g., movie, music, advertisements, and/orimage files) to a set 34 of user-defined criteria stored in the memory28. According to an exemplary embodiment, the set 34 of criteriaincludes keywords and/or phrases of interest to the user. (The set 34 ofcriteria may additionally or alternatively store keywords and phrasesthat are of interest to multiple users.) If, for example, the user isinterested in media related to boating, the user may populate the set 34of criteria with “boat,” “helm,” “keel,” and other boating/nauticalterms. The user may even include boating or nautical themes, such as“harbor,” “marina,” “islands,” “cruising,” and even “waterskiing.” Thepersonal agent 26 then compares the media 32 to the set 34 of criteria.If the media 32 contains, or is associated with, one or more of thecriteria in the set 34 of keywords, then the media 32 is stored in thememory 28. If the media 32 fails to contain any of the criteria, thenthe personal agent 26 has discretion to store, discard, or ignore themedia 32. The personal agent 26, then, targets media based on criteriadefined by the user.

The set 34 of criteria may include any descriptive information. The set34 of criteria, for example, may include graphical/visual symbols,pictures, and audio content. The personal agent 26 compares the media 32to the set 34 of criteria. If the media 32 contains, or is associatedwith, one or more of the symbols, pictures, and/or audio content, thenthe media 32 is stored in the memory 28. If the media 32 fails tocontain any of the criteria, then the personal agent 26 has discretionto store, discard, or ignore the media 32. The personal agent 26, then,targets media based on symbols, pictures, and/or audio content selectedor defined by the user.

According to additional embodiments, the media 32 may be scored. As thepersonal agent 26 compares the media 32 to the set 34 of criteria, thepersonal agent 26 may calculate a score for the media 32. The score mayreflect how well the media 32 correlates to the set 34 of criteria. Thescore, for example, may have a high value if the media 32 contains oneor more exact phrases from the set 34 of criteria. If the media 32 onlycontains a single word match from multiple entries in the set 34 ofcriteria, then the score may be low. The score, then, may reflect howwell the media 32 matches the set 34 of criteria. Moreover, the personalagent 26 may compare the resulting score to a threshold score. If themedia's score does not equal of exceed the threshold score, then thepersonal agent 26 has discretion to store, discard, or ignore the media32.

Exemplary embodiments maintain user control and privacy. Because theuser populates the set 34 of criteria, the user determines whatadvertisements, movies, programs, music, and other media are of interestto the user. The personal agent 26 thus sifts or filters the media 32according to the interests of the user. At all times, though, the usercompletely controls what criteria, e.g., keywords or phrases, describesubject matter of interest to the user. While the user may permit accessto the set 34 of criteria, the user may also deter or even restrictaccess, thus maintaining complete control over how the set 34 ofcriteria is defined. If the user does not want another party to haveaccess to the set 34 of criteria, the user may configure the personalagent 26 for complete privacy. The user, however, may permit advertisersand service providers to access the set 34 of criteria, thus revealingtopics of interest to the user. Moreover, exemplary embodiments do notstore personal/private information. Because exemplary embodiments onlymatch keywords and other criteria to media, exemplary embodiments neednot collect and analyze social security information, addressinformation, or even anonymous personal or household information.Exemplary embodiments, then, need not disclose personal, private, orsensitive information.

The reader is assumed to be generally familiar with targeted media. If,however, the reader desires more information, the reader is invited toconsult the following sources, with each incorporated herein byreference in its entirety: U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,615 to Bryant et al.(Jul. 29, 1997); U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,170 to Hite et al. (Jun. 30, 1998);U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,257 to Slezak (Dec. 21, 1999); U.S. Pat. No.6,009,409 to Adler et al. (Dec. 28, 1999); U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,293 toChaddha (Feb. 5, 2002); U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,261 to Rosser (Sep. 3,2002); U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,020 to Zigmond et al. (Feb. 24, 2004); U.S.Pat. No. 6,771,644 to Brassil et al. (Aug. 3, 2004); Published U.S.Patent Application 2003/0139134 to Bailey et al. (Jul. 24, 2003);Published U.S. Patent Application 2004/0031058 to Reisman (Feb. 12,2004); Published U.S. Patent Application 2004/0131357 to Farmer et al.(Jul. 8, 2004); Published U.S. Patent Application 2004/0210944 toBrassil et al. (Oct. 21, 2004); and Published U.S. Patent Application2006/0029093 to Van Rossum (Feb. 9, 2006).

The user's communications device 20 and the media server 22 are onlysimply illustrated. Because the architecture and operating principles ofcomputers, communications devices, and other processor-controlleddevices are well known, details of the hardware and software componentsof the user's communications device 20 and the media server 22 are notfurther shown and described. If, however, the reader desires moredetails, the reader is invited to consult the following sources, allincorporated herein by reference in their entirety: ANDREW TANENBAUM,COMPUTER NETWORKS (4^(th) edition 2003); WILLIAM STALLINGS, COMPUTERORGANIZATION AND ARCHITECTURE: DESIGNING FOR PERFORMANCE (7^(th) edition2005); and DAVID A. PATTERSON & JOHN L. HENNESSY, COMPUTER ORGANIZATIONAND DESIGN: THE HARDWARE/SOFTWARE INTERFACE (3^(rd) Edition 2004).

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustrating a process for targeting media,according to more exemplary embodiments. Here the user utilizes a userinterface 40 to populate the set 34 of criteria. The user enters wordsand/or phrases of interest to the user using the user interface 40. Theuser interface 40 is illustrated as a remote control 42, yet the userinterface 40 may be a control panel, keypad, keyboard, display, or anyother means for receiving spoken or tactile inputs. The processor (shownas reference numeral 30 in FIG. 1) receives an input via the userinterface 40, and the input instructs the processor to add the keyword,phrase, or property to the set 34 of criteria (Step 44). The user'scommunications device 20 also receives the media stream or file (e.g.,movie, music, advertisements, and/or images) (Step 46). The personalagent 26 compares the media to the set 34 of criteria (Step 48). Thepersonal agent 26 compares the textual and/or visual content of themedia to the set 34 of user-defined criteria (Step 50). If the textualand/or visual content contains any criterion in the set 34 of criteria,then the media is stored in memory; otherwise, if the textual and/orvisual content fails to contain any criterion, then the personal agent26 may select a destination (Step 52). The media, for example, may bedeleted or discarded from memory, as the media may not contain subjectmatter of interest to the user (Step 54). The media, however, may betemporarily stored in memory to await user review (Step 56). If the userdoes not review and/or approve the media within a predetermined timeframe (e.g., seven days), then the media may be permanently deleted frommemory (Step 58).

The personal agent 26 compares textual and/or visual content of themedia. The personal agent 26, for example, may compare the set 34 ofcriteria to metadata associated with the media 32. The personal agent 26may additionally or alternatively compare the set 34 of criteria to atextual transcript of the media 32. The transcript may describe dialogueor a scene within the media 32. The personal agent 26 may additionallyor alternatively use audible word recognition techniques to analyze anaudio soundtrack of the media 32. The audio soundtrack is analyzed forrecognized words, and those recognized words are compared to the set 34of criteria. The personal agent 26 may additionally or alternativelycompare the pitch, emphasis, and rhythm of the soundtrack to knowncharacteristics of a criterion. The personal agent 26 may additionallyor alternatively use pattern and color recognition techniques to detectobjects of interest to the user.

Descriptive text may be provided by a media source. The descriptivetext, for example, may be created and provided by the media server 22.The media server 22 may analyze or process the media 32 and provide atextual description of the media 32. The media server 22 then providesthis textual description to the personal agent 26. The media server 22could provide this textual description a content creator fails toprovide the descriptive text.

Exemplary embodiments thus target media to the user. Because the userpopulates the set 34 of criteria, the user may define the criteria, suchas words and/or phrases, that are of interest to the user. The moredescriptive the criteria, the more relevant the media 32 is to the user.Very descriptive criteria, however, also may greatly filter media, thuslimiting the amount of media stored for retrieval. Returning to the“boating” example from above, if the user populates the set 34 ofcriteria with “jib,” “ballast,” “batten,” or “hull,” few media arelikely to contain such narrow terms. As the user gains experience withthe personal agent 26, however, the user may tailor the set 34 ofcriteria to balance the user's interests with the user's desired viewingtime and inventory or catalog of stored media.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating another process for targeting media,according to even more exemplary embodiments. The media server 22 sendsthe media to the user's communications device 20 (Step 60). The personalagent 26 compares the media to the set 34 of criteria (Step 62). Thepersonal agent 26 sends notifications to the media server 22 describingcomparison matches (Step 64). That is, the media server 22 is notifiedwhen the media matches one or more keywords in the user's set ofcriteria. The media thus contains subject matter of interest to theuser. The personal agent 26, however, may also provide additionalnotifications or information. The media server 22, for example, may benotified of a frequency of presentation of the stored media (Step 66).The personal agent 26 may inform the media server 22 of each time theuser retrieves and watches, listens to, or otherwise experiences themedia (Step 68). The personal agent 26 may inform the media server 22 ofa date and/or time of presentation of the media (Step 70). The mediaserver 22 may be notified of preceding content/media that precedespresentation of the media and/or of subsequent content/media thatfollows presentation of the media (Step 72). The personal agent 26 mayalso collect and send demographic information describing the user (Step74).

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustrating yet another process for targetingmedia, according to still more exemplary embodiments. The media server22 sends the media to the user's communications device 20 (Step 80).Here the media is associated with descriptive text that describes themedia. The descriptive text is a set of words or phrases that describethe visual and/or audible content of the media. The descriptive text,for example, may simply be a listing of words or phrases describing thesubject matter of the media. The descriptive text, however, may alsoinclude a textual description of the media, the plot, actors/actresses,director, scenes, and/or any other descriptive information. Thedescriptive text may be contained within the media, or the descriptivetext may separately accompany the media. The user's communicationsdevice 20, for example, may receive one or more packet headerscomprising the descriptive text (Step 82). The user's communicationsdevice 20 may additionally or alternatively receive a file thatdescribes or accompanies the media and that comprises the descriptivetext (Step 84). The descriptive text may also be received from anelectronic programming guide or channel (Step 86). However thedescriptive text is received, the descriptive text is compared to theset of criteria (Step 88). If the descriptive text contains anycriterion, then the media is stored in memory; otherwise, if thedescriptive text fails to contain any criterion, then the media may bediscarded or temporarily stored (Step 90). The media that is stored maybe targeted to the user's communications device.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematics illustrating yet another process fortargeting media, according to still more exemplary embodiments. Here themedia server 22 sends an advertisement to the user's communicationsdevice 20 (Step 100). That is, the media is an advertising stream orfile, and the personal agent 26 determines whether the advertisementappeals to the user. The personal agent 26 compares the textual and/orvisual content of the advertisement to the set 34 of user-definedcriteria (Step 102). The personal agent 26 may additionally oralternatively compare descriptive text to the set 34 of criteria (Step104). If the textual content, the visual content, and/or the descriptivetext contains any criterion in the set 34 of criteria, then theadvertisement is stored in memory (Step 106). The advertisement may thuscontain subject matter of interest to the user. If the advertisementfails to contain any criterion, then the personal agent 26 hasdiscretion to store or delete the advertisement from memory (Step 108).FIG. 5, then, illustrates how the user may personally determine whatadvertisements appeal to the interests of the user. Those advertisementsthat do not appeal to the user may be discarded or ignored, thus moreefficiently utilizing the user's precious viewing time.

The process continues with FIG. 6. When an advertisement is stored, theadvertisement may contain subject matter that appeals to the user. Thepersonal agent 26, then, may send storage information describing whatadvertisements are stored for retrieval by the user's communicationsdevice (Step 110). The storage information helps advertisers, marketers,and/or product/service providers to identify the effectiveness of theadvertisement. When the user's communications device 20 is notified ofan advertisement insertion point (Step 112), the personal agent 26retrieves a stored advertisement from memory (Step 114). That storedadvertisement is inserted into the insertion point (Step 116). Thepersonal agent 26 then sends a notification message describing theretrieved advertisement (Step 118). As FIG. 3 illustrated, the personalagent 26 may notify the media server 22 of a frequency of presentation,preceding and/or subsequent media, or demographic information (e.g.,income and gender) describing the user and/or the user's household.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustrating additional exemplary embodiments. Thepersonal agent 26 may access a set 130 of rules stored in the memory 28.The set 130 of rules comprises one or more exclusions, conditions, andother logical rules for comparing the media 32 to the set 34 ofcriteria. The user, for example, may determine that a single keywordmatch results in too much media. That is, if media (such as anadvertisement) only contains a single keyword match, the user may findthat too many irrelevant advertisements are being stored to the user'scommunications device 20. The user, then, may configure the set 130 ofrules to require multiple keyword matches before the media 32 is storedto the memory 28. The user, for example, may require that the mediacontain five (5) different keyword matches to ensure the media 32 isrelevant to the user's interests. The set 130 of rules may also containkeyword combinations that are required before the media 32 is stored tothe memory 28. Again, some combinations of keywords may ensure that themedia 32 is relevant to the user's interests. The set 130 of rules,similarly, may contain word or phrasing combinations that automaticallyexclude the media 32 as not being relevant to the user's interests. Theuser, in short, may configure the set 130 of rules to further ensurethat the media 32 is relevant to the user's interests.

The personal agent 26 may also access a listing 140 of included orexcluded media. The user may wish to receive and store some media,regardless of whether the media 32 matches any criterion in the set 34of criteria. Similarly, even though some media may contain one or morekeywords in the set 34 of criteria, the media may still be irrelevant tothe user's interests. If, for example, the user is interested in“automobiles,” the user may not be interested in a laundry soapcommercial that shows or mentions “car.” Before the personal agent 26accepts the media 32, then, the personal agent 26 may first compare themedia 32 to the listing 140 of included or excluded media. The listing140 of included or excluded media comprises a listing of titles, actors,actresses, directors, or any other information that the user wishes toinclude or exclude. If any information associated with the media 32matches an entry in the listing 140 of included or excluded media, thenthe personal agent 26 may store, ignore, or delete the media 32. Thelisting 140 of included or excluded media further helps ensure that theuser's limited viewing time is wisely consumed.

The personal agent 26 may also populate the set 34 of criteria. Thepersonal agent 26 may include intelligent logic and programmingstatements that autonomously identify criteria of interest (such askeywords) to the user. As media is successfully compared to the set 34of criteria, the personal agent 26 may add related or additionalcriteria to the set 34 of criteria. The personal agent 26 may query atable 150 of associated criteria. The table 150 of associated criteriacontains word and phrase associations that may lead to a richerdefinition of relevant or interesting subject matter. Suppose, forexample, that the user has an interest in “cars.” The table 150 ofassociated criteria may contain words, phrases, and other terms thatappeal to similar subject matter interests. The table 150 of associatedcriteria, for example, may relate “cars” to “trucks,” “racing,” “tires,”and even “motor oil.” The table 150 of associated criteria may evenrelate “cars” to related phrases, such as “all wheel drive,” “fuelinjection,” and “anti-lock brakes.” The personal agent 26 may then querythe table 150 of associated criteria for terms, keywords, and phrasesthat are associated with “cars.” The personal agent 26 may then addthose query results to the set 34 of criteria. So, even though the useronly populated the set 34 of criteria with “cars,” the personal agent 26may autonomously add additional criteria to enrich the user's subjectmatter definitions. The personal agent 26 also allows the user to accessand to review the table 150 of associated criteria. The user may thusedit the table 150 to add, or remove, any undesired terms.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustrating yet another process for targetingmedia, according to even more exemplary embodiments. The media server 22sends the media via a multicast or unicast stream to the user'scommunications device 20 (Step 160). Here the media is associated withproperties and/or instructions 162. These properties and/or instructions162 may contain information regarding the target audience for whom themedia is targeted. An advertisement for a luxury vehicle, for example,may be associated with properties indicating the advertisement istargeted to males and females, aged 40-65 years, and living in anaffluent area or ZIP code. These properties and/or instructions 162 mayalso include information describing when to process the advertisementfor audible/visual presentation and/or how many times the advertisementis presented before expiring.

The properties and/or instructions 162 are compared to a list 164 ofattributes (Step 166). When the media is received by the user'scommunications device 20, the personal agent 26 compares the propertiesand/or instructions 162 to the list 164 of attributes stored in memory28. The list 164 of attributes demographically describes the user, theuser's household, and/or the user's interests. The list 164 ofattributes may include the set 34 of criteria, but the list 164 ofattributes may additionally include broader and richer targetingdescriptions. The list 164 of attributes may describe the user's targetpreferences for advertising, movies, and other media. The user, forexample, may only be interested in media that is targeted to females,aged 35-45, and living in a metropolitan area. The list 164 ofattributes may further include media preferences, such as “romanticcomedies,” “George Clooney,” and “classic musicals.” The user thusaccesses and populates the list 164 of attributes with mediapreferences. The list 164 of attributes may include the user's age,income, ZIP code, and other demographic information. The personal agent26 may even autonomously populate the list 164 of attributes, based onthe user's historical media selections. The user, of course, may includemore personally identifiable information, and the user may configure thepersonal agent to reveal none, some, or all of the list 164 ofattributes.

If the media favorably compares, the media is stored (Step 168). Theproperties and/or instructions 162 are compared to the list 164 ofattributes. The personal agent 26 may consult the set 130 of rules(shown in FIG. 7) to determine how well the media must compare to thelist 164 of attributes. The personal agent 26 may also access the table140 of included or excluded media (shown in FIG. 7) to determine whetherthe user wishes to exclude the media. If the properties and/orinstructions 162 still match, or favorably compare, to the list 164 ofattributes, then the personal agent 26 stores the media in memory. Thepersonal agent 26 may also send storage information describing whatmedia is stored for retrieval by the user's communications device (Step170).

The media is then retrieved for presentation. The user's communicationsdevice 22 is notified of a media insertion point (Step 172). Thenotification may also include targeting information 174 describing whattype of media should be inserted into the insertion point. Theinformation may describe any type of media that is to be inserted intothe insertion point (such as a movie, music, or advertisement). Thepersonal agent 26 compares the targeting information 174 to theproperties and/or instructions 162 associated with the stored media(Step 176). The personal agent 26 thus retrieves and inserts the storedmedia that best satisfies the targeting information 174 (Step 178).

The set 34 of criteria may be populated via a user interview. The usermay access the set 34 of criteria via the user interface 40 and enterkeywords and phrases describing desired subject matter. The personalagent 26, however, may conduct an automated interview and, based on theuser's interview responses, populate the set 34 of criteria. Thepersonal agent 26, for example, may instruct the processor 30 tovisually display or audibly present a menu of questions. As the userenters responses to the questions, the personal agent 26 analyzes thoseresponses. The personal agent 26 may query the user for likes anddislikes and appealing media titles, genres, actors, actresses, andother indicators of appealing subject matter. The personal agent 26 maythen populate the set 32 of criteria with keywords and phrases that helpdescribe the appealing subject matter. The personal agent 26 thus buildsthe set 34 of criteria based on answers to questions presented to theuser on the communications device 22.

FIG. 9 depicts other possible operating environments, according to moreexemplary embodiments. FIG. 9 illustrates that the personal agent 26 mayalternatively or additionally operate within various othercommunications devices 200. FIG. 9, for example, illustrates that thepersonal agent 26 may entirely or partially operate within a set-top box(202), a personal/digital video recorder (PVR/DVR) 204, personal digitalassistant (PDA) 206, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device 208, aninteractive television 210, an Internet Protocol (IP) phone 212, a pager214, a cellular/satellite phone 216, or any computer system and/orcommunications device utilizing a digital signal processor (DSP) 218.The communications device 200 may also include watches, radios, vehicleelectronics, clocks, printers, gateways, and other apparatuses andsystems. Because the architecture and operating principles of thevarious communications devices 200 are well known, the hardware andsoftware componentry of the various communications devices 200 are notfurther shown and described. If, however, the reader desires moredetails, the reader is invited to consult the following sources, allincorporated herein by reference in their entirety: LAWRENCE HARTE etal., GSM SUPERPHONES (1999); SIEGMUND REDL et al., GSM AND PERSONALCOMMUNICATIONS HANDBOOK (1998); and JOACHIM TISAL, GSM CELLULAR RADIOTELEPHONY (1997); the GSM Standard 2.17, formally known SubscriberIdentity Modules, Functional Characteristics (GSM 02.17 V3.2.0(1995-01))”; the GSM Standard 11.11, formally known as Specification ofthe Subscriber Identity Module—Mobile Equipment (Subscriber IdentityModule—ME) interface (GSM 11.11 V5.3.0 (1996-07))”; MICHEAL ROBIN &MICHEL POULIN, DIGITAL TELEVISION FUNDAMENTALS (2000); JERRY WHITAKERAND BLAIR BENSON, VIDEO AND TELEVISION ENGINEERING (2003); JERRYWHITAKER, DTV HANDBOOK (2001); JERRY WHITAKER, DTV: THE REVOLUTION INELECTRONIC IMAGING (1998); and EDWARD M. SCHWALB, ITV HANDBOOK:TECHNOLOGIES AND STANDARDS (2004).

The exemplary embodiments may be applied regardless of networkingenvironment. The user's communications device 20, and the media server22, may operate using wired or wireless principles. The communicationsnetwork 24 may be a cable network operating in the radio-frequencydomain and/or the Internet Protocol (IP) domain. The communicationsnetwork 24 may have POTS components and/or features. The communicationsnetwork 24, however, may also include a distributed computing network,such as the Internet (sometimes alternatively known as the “World WideWeb”), an intranet, a local-area network (LAN), and/or a wide-areanetwork (WAN). The communications network 24 may include coaxial cables,copper wires, fiber optic lines, and/or hybrid-coaxial lines. Thecommunications network 24 may even include wireless portions utilizingany portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and any signaling standard(such as the I.E.E.E. 802 family of standards, GSM/CDMA/TDMA or anycellular standard, and/or the ISM band). The concepts described hereinmay be applied to any wireless/wireline communications network orcommunications device, regardless of physical componentry, physicalconfiguration, or communications standard(s).

The personal agent 26 may be physically embodied on or in acomputer-readable medium. This computer-readable medium may includeCD-ROM, DVD, tape, cassette, floppy disk, memory card, andlarge-capacity disk (such as IOMEGA®, ZIP®, JAZZ®, and otherlarge-capacity memory products (IOMEGA®, ZIP®, and JAZZ® are registeredtrademarks of Iomega Corporation, 1821 W. Iomega Way, Roy, Utah 84067,801.332.1000, www.iomega.com). This computer-readable medium, or media,could be distributed to end-subscribers, licensees, and assignees. Thesetypes of computer-readable media, and other types not mention here butconsidered within the scope of the exemplary embodiments, allow thepersonal agent 26 to be easily disseminated. A computer program productcomprises the personal agent 26 stored on the computer-readable medium.The personal agent 26 comprises computer-readable instructions/code fortargeting media, as hereinabove explained.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for targeting media. A setof criteria is stored in memory (Block 300). Media is received (Block302) and/or descriptive text is received that describes the media (Block304). The audible/visual content of the media is compared to the set ofcriteria (Block 306). The descriptive text is compared to the set ofcriteria (Block 308). If the content of the media or the descriptivetext contains any criterion (Block 310), then the media is stored inmemory (Block 312). If the content of the media or the descriptive textfails to contain any criterion (Block 310), then the media is discarded(Block 314). The stored media is retrieved from memory and inserted intoan insertion point (Block 316). Information is sent that describes atleast one of i) a frequency of presentation of the stored media, ii) atime of presentation of the stored media, iii) preceding content thatprecedes presentation of the stored media, iv) subsequent content thatfollows presentation of the stored media, and vi) demographicinformation describing the user (Block 318). Additional keywords may beadded to the set of keywords based on comparison matches (Block 320).

FIG. 11 is another flowchart illustrating another method for targetingmedia. Descriptive text is sent to a user's communications device thatdescribes an advertisement (Block 350). A header may be sent thatcomprises the descriptive text (Block 352). A file may also be sent thataccompanies the advertisement and that comprises the descriptive text(Block 354). Information is received that describes comparison matchesbetween the descriptive text and a set of user-defined criteria that arestored in memory of a user's communications device (Block 356). Storageinformation may be received that describes what advertisements arestored for retrieval by the user's communications device (Block 358).Information may also be received that describes at least one of i) afrequency of presentation of the advertisement, ii) a time ofpresentation of the advertisement, iii) preceding content that precedespresentation of the advertisement, iv) subsequent content that followspresentation of the advertisement, and vi) demographic informationdescribing the user (Block 360).

The personal agent 26 may also be physically embodied on or in anyaddressable (e.g., HTTP, IEEE 802.11, Wireless Application Protocol(WAP)) wire line or wireless device capable of presenting an IP address.Examples could include a computer, a wireless personal digital assistant(PDA), an Internet Protocol mobile phone, or a wireless pager.

While the exemplary embodiments have been described with respect tovarious features, aspects, and embodiments, those skilled and unskilledin the art will recognize the exemplary embodiments are not so limited.Other variations, modifications, and alternative embodiments may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the exemplaryembodiments.

1. A method for targeting media to a communications device of a user,comprising: receiving descriptive information that describes media;comparing the descriptive information to stored user-defined criteria,the user-defined criteria comprising keywords input by a user, whereincomparing the descriptive information to the user-defined criteriacomprises: determining whether keywords of the user-defined criteriamatch the descriptive information of the media, wherein the descriptiveinformation of the media is required to contain five different keywordmatches to the keywords input by the user; and determining whetherspecific combinations of the user-defined criteria match the descriptiveinformation of the media; comparing the descriptive information to theuser-defined criteria further comprises: responsive to the match beingdetermined from comparing the descriptive information of the media tothe user-defined criteria, determining whether the match should beexcluded based on exclusion rules for the media; storing the media tomemory of a communications device, responsive to determining the matchof descriptive information of the media and responsive to the match notbeing excluded; and sending information describing: a frequency ofpresentation of the stored media, a time of presentation of the storedmedia, a preceding content that precedes presentation of the storedmedia, and a subsequent content that follows presentation of the storedmedia.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the user-definedcriteria being input by the user further comprises: graphical symbols,visual symbols, pictures, and audio content.
 3. A method according toclaim 1, wherein receiving the descriptive information comprisesreceiving at least one of i) a header comprising the descriptiveinformation and ii) a file that accompanies the media and that comprisesthe descriptive information.
 4. A method according to claim 1, furthercomprising sending information describing demographic informationdescribing the user.
 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein mediacomprises: movies, music, advertisements, and images.
 6. A method fortargeting media to a communications device of a user, comprising:receiving descriptive information that describes media at a user'scommunications device; determining comparison matches between thedescriptive information and user-defined criteria that are stored inmemory of the user's communications device, wherein the descriptiveinformation of the media is required to contain five different keywordmatches to keywords input by the user; scoring the comparison matchesbased on a correlation between the descriptive information and theuser-defined criteria; storing the media when the score of thecomparison matches is above a threshold; and sending informationdescribing: a frequency of presentation of the stored media, a time ofpresentation of the stored media, a preceding content that precedespresentation of the stored media, and a subsequent content that followspresentation of the stored media.
 7. A method according to claim 6,wherein receiving the descriptive information comprises receiving atleast one of i) a header comprising the descriptive information and ii)a file that accompanies the media and that comprises the descriptiveinformation.
 8. A method according to claim 6, further comprisingtransmitting information describing demographic information describingthe user.
 9. A method according to claim 6, flirt her comprisingtransmitting storage information describing what media are stored forretrieval by the user's communications device, wherein the transmittedstorage information is adapted to be feedback to a media serverproviding the descriptive information for media.
 10. A device fortargeting media, comprising: memory for storing a program for targetingmedia for storage; and a processor, functionally coupled to the memory,the processor being responsive to computer-executable instructionscontained in the program and operative to: receive descriptiveinformation that describes media; compare the descriptive information toa stored set of user-defined criteria, the user-defined criteriacomprising keywords input by a user, wherein comparing the descriptiveinformation to the user-defined criteria comprises: determining whetherkeywords of the user-defined criteria match the descriptive informationof the media, wherein the descriptive information of the media isrequired to contain five different keyword matches to the keywords inputby the user; and determining whether specific combinations of theuser-defined criteria match the descriptive information of the media;comparing the descriptive information to the user-defined criteriafurther comprises: responsive to the match being determined fromcomparing the descriptive information of the media to the user-definedcriteria, determining whether the match should be excluded based onexclusion rules; and storing the media to the memory of device,responsive to determining the match of descriptive information of themedia and responsive to the match not being excluded; and sendinginformation describing: a frequency of presentation of the stored media,a time of presentation of the stored media, a preceding content thatprecedes presentation of the stored media, and a subsequent content thatfollows presentation of the stored media.
 11. A device according toclaim 10, wherein the processor receives at least one of i) a headercomprising the descriptive information and ii) a file that accompaniesthe media and that comprises the descriptive information.
 12. A deviceaccording to claim 10, wherein the processor retrieves the stored mediaand inserts the stored media into an insertion point.
 13. A deviceaccording to claim 10, wherein the processor sends informationdescribing demographic information describing the user.
 14. A deviceaccording to claim 10, wherein media comprises: movies, music,advertisements, and images.
 15. A device for targeting media,comprising: memory for storing a program for targeting media forstorage; and a processor, functionally coupled to the memory, theprocessor being responsive to computer-executable instructions containedin the program and operative to: receive descriptive information thatdescribes media at a user's communications device; determine comparisonmatches between the descriptive information and user-defined criteriathat are stored in memory of the user's communications device, theuser-defined criteria comprising keywords input by a user; score thecomparison matches based on a correlation between the descriptiveinformation and the user-defined criteria, wherein the descriptiveinformation of the media is required to contain five different keywordmatches to the keywords input by the user; store the media when thescore of the comparison matches is above a threshold; and sendinformation describing: a frequency of presentation of the stored media,a time of presentation of the stored media, a preceding content thatprecedes presentation of the stored media, and a subsequent content thatfollows presentation of the stored media.
 16. A device according toclaim 15, wherein the processor sends at least one of i) a headercomprising a descriptive text and ii) a file that accompanies anadvertisement and that comprises the descriptive text.
 17. A deviceaccording to claim 15, wherein the processor receives informationdescribing demographic information describing the user.
 18. A deviceaccording to claim 15, wherein the processor transmits storageinformation describing what advertisements are stored for retrieval bythe user's communications device, wherein the transmitted storageinformation is adapted to be feedback to a media server providing thedescriptive information for media.
 19. A computer program product,tangibly embodied on a computer readable medium, the computer programproduct including instructions for causing a computer to execute amethod for targeting media for storage on a communications device,comprising: receiving descriptive information that describes media;comparing the descriptive information to stored user-defined criteria,wherein comparing the descriptive information to the user-definedcriteria comprises: determining whether keywords of the user-definedcriteria match the descriptive information of the media; and determiningwhether specific combinations of the user-defined criteria match thedescriptive information of the media; comparing the descriptiveinformation to the user-defined criteria further comprises: responsiveto the match being determined from comparing the descriptive informationof the media to the user-defined criteria, determining whether the matchshould be excluded based on exclusion rules for the media; storing themedia to memory of a communications device, responsive to determiningthe match of descriptive information of the media and responsive to thematch not being excluded; and sending information describing: afrequency of presentation of the stored media, a time of presentation ofthe stored media, a preceding content that precedes presentation of thestored media, and a subsequent content that follows presentation of thestored media.
 20. A computer program product tangibly embodied on acomputer readable medium, the computer program product includinginstructions for causing a computer to execute a method for targetingmedia for storage on a communications device, comprising: receivingdescriptive information that describes media at a user's communicationsdevice; determining comparison matches between the descriptiveinformation and user-defined criteria that are stored in memory of theuser's communications device; scoring the comparison matches based on acorrelation between the descriptive information and the user-definedcriteria; storing the media when the score of the comparison matches isabove a threshold; and sending information describing: a frequency ofpresentation of the stored media, a time of presentation of the storedmedia, a preceding content that precedes presentation of the storedmedia, and a subsequent content that follows presentation of the storedmedia.